For this week's Tombstone Tuesday I made a special visit to the Franco-American War Veterans' Memorial at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

The monument, which was dedicated on Tuesday, May 30th, 1933, sits at what was once the main entrance of the cemetery along Riverneck Road and is made from the highest grade granite. It is twenty-one and one-half feet long, five and one-half feet in height, by one and one-half feet wide, and is surmounted with 3 flag staffs.

On the left and right sides of the monument there are the following inscriptions; A LA MEMOIRE DE CEUX QUI TOMBERENT, and EN L’HONNEUR DE CEUX QUI SERVIRENT which translate to: IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO DIED, IN HONOR OF THOSE WHO SERVED. In the center of the monument there is the inscriptions GUERRE MONDIALE, 1917-1918 and LES FRANCO-AMERICAINS RECONNAISSANTS. which translate to: WORLD WAR 1917 - 1918, GRATEFUL FRANCO-AMERICANS

According to Albert V. Cote's website, The Franco-Americans in Lowell, Massachusetts, the monument was refurbished by the Franco-American War Veterans, Post No.4 of Lowell, MA, in the early 1990s. This refurbishment added two brass plates (I did not find) and the English translations of the left and right side inscriptions. Also added was the inscription, FRANCO-AMERICAN WAR VETERANS POST NO. 4 1995. And to the back of the monument, Refurbish Committe May 27, 1995. Ronald Sevigny, Roland Provencher, Arthur Papillion, Ronald Guilmette, Leo Cloutier and Leo Martin.

The first Veteran to be buried at the memorial was *Alfred Peter Barron, Seaman 2 Cl., USN. He died on 11 October, 1933 and was interred on 14 October.

Also laid to rest, in order of interment, are:

Hormisdas Gauthier

*Ernest Villandry

*Oscar Rene

*Peter Dufour

Joseph Forbes

Alexandre Gagnon

*Mathias St. Laurent

Gilbert Richard

*Harry Porter (Ira F. Porter)

Ovila Briere

Salluste Fournier

Joseph Bedard

*Walter St. Hilaire

*Peter Desmarais

*Louis Dube

George A. Richard

Louis Provencher

Rocky Ambrosino

Ovila Frenette

Antonio Roussell

Joseph R. Laferriere

Victor Charette

Rosario Martineau

Raymond O. DeMange

Raymond A. Ferris

Roland Gagne

Henry J.Couture

Armand J. Carbonneau

Leo S. Harnois

Raymond P. Vincent

Perley R. Munsell

Omer Frechette

Raymond. E. L'Heureux

William B.Aresenault

Paul J. Pare

Arthur J. Proulx

Gerard R. Gauthier

Paul L. Greenwood Sr.

John H. James Jr.

Franklin D. Ambrosino

Walter, J. Ciesla

Raymond J. Landry

George N. Gilbert

Joseph R. Corcoran

Joseph Leo Lacourse

John J. Mele Jr.

Eugene Sylvain

Daniel Lavoie

Calvin Simpkins

Robert W. Finn

Leo R. Plante Jr.

Norman M. Ayotte

Daniel A. Thompson

Ralph N. Biron

Richard J. Marshall

Donald G. Foote

Paul H. Durand

Thomas Olivera

Armand Bibault

On May 31, 1933, there was an article that appeared in Lowell Sun describing the dedication ceremony of this memorial on pages 6 & 7. I have extracted some of that article below.

Erected to honor the memory of Franco-American war heroes, this monument was dedicated on Tuesday, May 30, 1933 in an open air ceremony at St. Joseph's cemetery in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. The dedication was largely attended and a musical program was provided by an augmented choir under the direction of Telesphore Malo, director of the choir at St. Joseph's parish.

Delegations from the many Franco-American organizations in the area were there, as well as: Guard St. Louis, Sacred Heart Guard, Franco-American veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, United Spanish War Veterans, Boy Scouts of America, the C. M. A. C. and the Jewish War Veterans. There was a mass and the eulogy was delivered by Rev. J. A. Fortier, OMI, a former war chaplain and pastor of Notre Dame de Lourdes church in Lowell . The monument, unveiled by Spanish war hero, Lieut. Georges Charette, U. S. N. retired, was presented to the Franco-American population by Arthur H.R. Groux, president and general chairman of the committee in charge of erecting it. Received and accepted by Rev. Louis G. Bachand OMI, superior of St. Joseph's parish, he gave a brief acceptance speech. Also, a burial plot was presented to the American Legion and accepted by Commander James H. Rooney, followed by a few words by Rev. Willliam F. Mahan, OMI, chaplain of the post.

6 comments:

Very nice Michelle, that was a lot of work. I only know of two people buried there, father and son, with surname Villandry (as in your photo, but don't know if they were related). They were former co-workers of mine at Father John's Medicine Co. Theodore and Lucien "Sonny." Did you know them?

Thanks Barbara. I don't know any Villandrys at all and there aren't any in my database. Maybe Ernest is related to the Villandrys you once knew. I am doing a little research on the earliest veterans that are buried here so if I find anything out I will let you know.

Hi I just came across this site and will be making a trip to Chelmsford to view this Memorial. I am vice president of the Charette-Charest Family Association and in this article saw where in 1933 Lieut Georges Charette unveiled this monument! He is a Medal of Honor winner as well.

Hi Michelle. I was so surprised to see your post about the Franco American Monument. My grandfather was Ernest Villandry. He died when my father was only 5 years old. I live in Texas and have never met any of my father's family. I do have the obituary on my grandfather and have always wondered about him. His brother was Theodore. I can give you more info about them. I actually met one of my cousins on Facebook who lives in Lowell about 2 yrs. ago. We have learned much about our family together! The internet is a wonderful tool! Thank you for all your help!

You are so very welcome! I'm glad that I could help. If you would like to correspond via email you can reach me at callmeshell at gmail.com or on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/RowBEEyar. Take care!

Search This Blog

Bienvenue

Trying to connect the Robillard branches of New England and beyond. Call Me-shell serves as an outlet for the personal genealogy research of your's truly.

PLEASE NOTE: I am human and I make mistakes. My research is just that, mine. And, while I don't mind sharing my research, please make sure to verify yours. If you would like a source citation for any information contained within my blog, please contact me at callmeshell at gmail.com.